


The Great Outdoors

by EldritchSandwich



Category: Tomb Raider (Video Game)
Genre: Camping, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, F/F Diversity Bingo, Fluffy Sandwich, Gen, Literal Sleeping Together, Secret Crush, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 08:05:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7306747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EldritchSandwich/pseuds/EldritchSandwich
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Against her better judgment, Sam joins Lara and Roth on their annual camping trip. In the end, the fact that she hates Croft-style camping ends up being the least important thing she learns about herself...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Great Outdoors

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of Femslash Revolution's 2016 F/F Diversity Bingo event.

Sam should have known.

She'd known Lara long enough not to have been suckered in by the sales pitch, to recognize it for what it was instead of building up some grand romantic ideal in her head. She was a big girl, and she was smarter than this. Or at least, she thought she was.

But no, Lara had said "Let's go camping," and "Roth and I do it every year," and "It'll be fun," and she'd pictured s'mores and nature walks and a nice, official, federally-regulated campground like a normal person. Instead she was halfway up a mountain in the Scottish Highlands, curled up under a tarp that did next to nothing to keep out the icy rain, and she was wet and scowling and miserable.

And the worst part was...boy, did Lara notice. That was something else Sam should have seen coming; Lara had always been so attentive to her emotions, always being able to tell when she was stressed or hungry or heartbroken or needed a break from studying. That was why she'd spent the initial hike across the mountains trying to keep a smile on her face, listening to Lara and Roth banter excitedly about the weekend ahead of them while also trying to keep pace with their long, purposeful strides. But then the rain had hit and they'd hunkered down between the rocks an hour away from where they were planning to make camp, and now here they were.

"I've almost got the fire going," Lara said from where she was hunched over a pile of firelighters and damp undergrowth, nose and eyebrows scrunching adorably as she worked. "I'm so sorry, the campsite we were headed to is so much better than this, it's dry and there's more room to move around. I can't believe I didn't check the weather forecast, I'm such an idiot..."

"Jesus, Lara, you can't control the weather," Sam snapped, then immediately regretted it. She fidgeted on her rock. "Is Roth going to be okay out there?"

"Oh, don't worry about Roth, he'll be fine. He's a tough old bastard, and he knows these mountains better than anyone."

The hero worship in Lara's voice made Sam smile, which was pretty much a miracle at this point. "He's been bringing you out here for a long time, huh?"

"Since I was a girl. We used to come up here with..." Lara's hands stilled in their attempts to strike the flint, and she cleared her throat. "With my father."

Sam frowned. Lara didn't talk about the late Lord Croft much, and it always made Sam feel a little guilty; her relationship with her own father might have been...complicated, but at least he was there. Just like Lara paid attention to her emotions, Sam always seemed hypersensitive to Lara's pain. When she was tired or sad or frustrated, something in Sam itched to make it better. "Sweetie, why don't you leave the fire alone for a second and come sit down. Your knees must be getting soaked."

Lara's eyes flicked toward her, momentarily tempted, but then she shook her head. "Oh, really, I've almost got it..."

"Come on, just give it a chance to dry out a little more." Lara frowned in indecision, and Sam pulled out her trump card by rubbing her hands up and down the arms of her jacket. "Please? I'm kinda chilly over here."

Lara immediately leapt up, campfire forgotten as she climbed onto Sam's rock and wrapped a hand around Sam's shoulder. The added body heat was more than welcome and Sam leaned into her, astonished as always that a body could be so soft and so hard at the same time. Her head dropped into Lara's neck, and her mind drifted back to the last time they'd sat like this, sitting in Lara's bed watching some stupid old movie about ancient Egypt. Lara always loved those...well, loved to complain about all the things they got wrong. It would have been annoying if it weren't so adorable.

As Sam grew ever more aware of Lara's warm body and the hand stroking her shoulder, she couldn't help but notice that word had come up again.

"Sam?" Lara murmured. Sam shifted, trying to straighten up but mostly just managing to snuggle closer.

"Mm?"

"I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have made you come out here, I know you're miserable..."

"No, Lara, come on, it was my choice. Besides, I'd rather be wet and miserable with you than sleeping in a nice warm bed all alone."

Lara laughed, her chest rumbling against Sam's ear, and that was when Sam realized. _Oh. No wonder you want to make her feel better. No wonder you think her concentration face and her archaeology babble are adorable. No wonder you always feel better when she's touching you, and no wonder your heart just skipped a beat when she laughed._

_You've got a crush on her, you dumbass._

Lara pulled back a little and looked down. "Sam? Are you all right?"

Until then, Sam didn't notice she'd gone stiff. She tried to relax, which of course just made her more stiff. "Um, fine. I'm fine."

"If you're really miserable, we can go. As soon as the rain stops, we can head back to the truck and go home..."

"No," Sam ground out, not quite trusting her voice until she'd swallowed. "No, I want to stay."

Lara smiled, stroking her fingers through Sam's hair; it was almost dry now. "What did I ever do to deserve a friend like you?"

Before Sam could do anything stupid enough to ruin said friendship, the rocks at the mouth of their makeshift cave clattered and Roth climbed down into the opening. He grinned his weathered grin, holding up a pair of dead rabbits. "Hope you girls are hungry."

Sam's stomach flipped, then flipped again when Lara brushed a hand across it before letting go and heading back to the fire. "Sorry I don't have the fire going, we were waiting for the kindling to dry and Sam was cold and—"

Roth chuckled as he patted Lara's shoulder. "It's fine. I know you'll have it done by the time I'm finished dressing these."

Lara nodded, and Roth slid past her toward Sam. Now that she'd had her little revelation, Sam couldn't help studying Lara a little more closely as she worked on the fire; she was wearing a jacket, but Sam could almost envision those toned arms flexing as she stroked the flint and steel, coaxing a few sparks into a tiny, hopeful flame that lit her face with a beautiful, triumphant smile. The sight made Sam smile faintly too.

"You two should sleep together."

Sam jumped, her head snapping around to find Roth half-watching her as he skinned the first rabbit. "Wh...what?"

Roth smiled tolerantly. "Look, you're putting on a brave face, but I know how cold you are. And I know Lara's worried, even if she's not the best at showing it. And there's not much room in here anyway. Just ask her so she doesn't have to ask you, yeah?"

Sam pursed her lips, nodding tersely and turning away in a desperate attempt to hide her blush. He was right, of course...spending the entire night with Lara wrapped around her, snuggling together for warmth, was the only reasonable course of action. Sam sighed.

Maybe it wasn't too late to go out and freeze to death.

* * *

The rabbit was...not bad, actually, once she got over the memory of watching them being skinned. It was well seasoned thanks to Roth's supplies—"You can catch meat in the wild, but you can't catch salt and pepper," he'd said with a wink—and being well-fed made the rest of their predicament seem a little less dire.

_Well_ , she thought as Lara laid out her sleeping bag on the driest section of rock, _with one exception._

Sam cleared her throat, and Lara looked up. "Um, Lara..."

"Yes?"

"Could we...would it be all right if we...slept together? I mean, just—"

Lara immediately straightened. "Oh! Of course! I'm sorry, I wasn't even thinking. Hold on, let me just..." She unzipped her sleeping bag and slipped it around Sam's, smiling up at her as she did. Sam swallowed. When that was all she did, Lara glanced down at the sleeping bags. "Are you...ready? We have to be up early tomorrow morning."

Sam shook her head. "Yeah. Of course, let me just..."

She awkwardly stripped off her jacket and her boots, hanging them up to keep them out of the rain; it had mostly stopped, but there was no point taking chances. On that subject, she took a deep breath, wiggled her way into the sleeping bag, faced the wall, and waited.

The first thing she felt was Lara's hand on her shoulder, just trying to steady herself as she maneuvered. Then she felt Lara's feet against her back, then Lara's knees, her hip, and finally her breasts. She tried not to squirm, even when Lara's hand slid around her waist.

"Sorry," Lara murmured in her ear, "is this all right?"

Sam swallowed. "Oh. Yeah. I mean...it's fine."

Lara pressed tighter against her, every curve obvious through their shirts, and Sam was thankful she was facing away so Lara couldn't see her blush. Lara's other arm, the one on the bottom, was still trying to find a place to rest, and eventually it settled under their heads as a makeshift pillow. That meant the back of Lara's hand was hot against Sam's cheek; her entire body was hot, in fact, almost too warm, although Sam supposed that was partly the sleeping bag and partly...well.

She swallowed. "Lara?"

"Mm?" Lara's mouth was against her ear, her breath hot and close and making her tingle.

"I..." Sam winced. "Good night."

"Good night." There were a few moments of silence, then Lara shifted closer. "Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"I really do love you."

Sam's heart skipped. "I...Lara, I..."

"I haven't had the kind of life that allows for a lot of friends. And you...you're my best friend, Sam. I'll never stop being grateful that you came into my life."

Sam blinked. "I..." She exhaled. "I love you too, Lara." When Lara somehow managed to snuggle even closer, Sam smiled. "But I'd rather be at home in bed."

Lara laughed against the back of her neck, face buried in her hair. God, she was so warm. "Go to sleep, Sam."

That was the last thing Lara said before her breathing slowed against Sam's neck. Sam slid her hand down over the one across her waist, gently interlacing the fingers with her own. _Go to sleep, Sam. I really do love you._

Sam closed her eyes with a smile.


End file.
